


Conversations With God and Other Eldritch Monstrosities

by neuronary



Series: friendly bentacles [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves' Tentacles | Bentacles, Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Eldritch, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26738353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neuronary/pseuds/neuronary
Summary: Ben died smiling, surrounded by his siblings.He woke up in a forest, alone.---Or, Ben discovers he's God's favourite and makes friends with the not-quite-people that live in his stomach.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & God, Ben Hargreeves & The Horror
Series: friendly bentacles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946155
Comments: 8
Kudos: 84





	Conversations With God and Other Eldritch Monstrosities

**Author's Note:**

> part 2 is here. I promise this is gonna make sense once part three goes up. Also you guys get Actual Bonding time. it's mostly happy after this. promise.
> 
> ~Neu

Everything hurt.

“Ben? Ben!”

Everything hurt in that odd way that meant that nothing hurt, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t feel his legs properly, couldn’t speak beyond a few mangled groans.

“ _ I heard a rumour that the pain went away _ .”

Just like that, Ben was floating.

“Allison?”

Why was she crying? Everything was fine now, it didn’t hurt at all. He still couldn’t feel his legs, and he was kind of dizzy, but other than that…

“Ben?”

“Hey, Klaus,” he said, peaceably. “How are things?”

“I heard a rumour you were okay,” Allison was saying. It didn’t carry the same weight as her usual rumours, probably because it was broken up by sobs.

Ben cracked his eyes open, staring up at Klaus, who looked pale. Diego knelt beside him, looking mildly ill, covered in blood.

Ben managed to put all the pieces together. Klaus looked pale because he was scared, Diego was covered in  _ his _ blood, and he couldn’t feel his legs because they were on the other side of the room.

“I heard a rumour… I heard…” Allison’s pleading attempts at fixing things petered out into full-on sobbing. Luther wrapped a shaking arm around her.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Ben said. “Look on the bright side: at least I won’t have to go on missions anymore.”

This did nothing to help the situation, leaving Allison to cry harder and start back up with the rumours.

“S’okay, Ally,” Ben mumbled. He was getting tired. “You did good. It doesn’t hurt anymore. You made it stop hurting.”

“Don’t.” Luther. He wasn’t crying, but he was close.

“M’tired,” Ben told them. “Think ‘m gonna… go…”

Allison flung her arms around him and sobbed, quickly joined by the rest. Ben couldn’t feel their arms around him, not properly, but he could remember. (He could imagine.)

He died with a smile on his face, staring up at the ceiling of a bank.

\---

He woke up in a forest, leaves above him decorated with shades of grey rather than green. He could hear something familiar in the back of his head, but he didn’t have much idea of who it was.

“You took your time.”

_ Come home, please. Ben. Ben, come home. _

“Uh, hi.”

There was a little girl in a sunhat in front of him. She had a bike, but he hadn’t heard her cycle up to him. Maybe she’d just appeared, like Five did.

“Hello,” the Girl said. “You were supposed to be here seventeen years ago.”

Ben blinked. “I was?”

She scoffed. “You’re lucky I like you.”

“You do?” Ben felt as though he was missing something important.

“Yes. You can stay for a bit before you go back,” she said. “They need to talk to you.”

Ben nodded. That made sense. They were… someone important. “Do I need to go somewhere?”

The girl pointed further into the forest.

Right.

Ben started walking.

\---

_ B̸̨̺̦͍̘̫͇͎̟̀̏̌̀͝ȅ̸̼̃͛̎̽͑̐̽̍͌̈́̓̓̈́͝n̷̢͉͔̠̘̲͔̤͚͊̈̑͗̉͑̌̕͜͝ͅͅB̴̦̳̑ȇ̷̮̰͕̞͇̪͍̩̖̩̲̭̠̬̔ͅn̸̡̹̥̤͔̲̒̎̚B̴̢̳̰͙̤̦̝͔̩̰̈̒̓͂̌̕͝ȩ̷͕͍̟͉̋͊̓͊͌̍͐͑̎̓̚͠n̴̼̲̙̳̗͊͠B̴̢̡̦͍̝̗̠̰͉̣̯̲̙͍̅̉̚e̸͙̯̦͎̬̱̰̹̞̫͙̺̒̽̕͝n̴̛̮͖̺̘̍͌̍̕B̷̡̭̼̰̙̬ͅé̶̛̠͔̤̬̜̮͇̻̈́́͒̓̉̿͋̅͗̏̎͠n̶͇̺̩͈̻̙̜͕̭͖̘̹͖̻̄̎̋̏̇́́̌̈́͘͜B̷̧̡̠̼̗̻͍͚͕̮̯̠͇̍̂̌͗͗̈́̿̏̇́͜͝͝ͅȩ̶̧̨̛̻̞̬͇͎̣͖̏͑̍̏̈́̍̓̊͘͜n̷͔̺̦̖̤̯͖̪̳̻̰͚̒B̶̛̫̰̥̗̟̙̱̘͙̱̫͕̐̓̌ë̴̡̧̢̹̩͎͍̜̤̥̿͊͐̉̋̽͋̾͝n̶͔̞̎̍́̅͒͛͐̋̄̏̂̇͆͆̕B̷̡͕̜̜̬͈̲͚̹̟̞̗̜̪̦̎̓̅͗̈́̓̋͊̾̋̅̕̕ȩ̷͓̖̯͖̹̺̬͖͍̓̉͊͛̂͘n̷̗̳̜͇̘̬͔͇̳̖͎̪̿̃̀̂͐̈́̚͘̕͜B̵̪̪͖͍̺̰̝̼͉̌̐̆͗̀̊͑̋͌̓̚͠ě̷̯̮̘̬͍̟͍̻̮͊͒̒̈̑̋̊̏̋̿͝͠n̷̘͉̬̟͖̾͋ͅ _

  
  


He tried not to flinch.

  
  


_ Ş̵̛̻̦̟̟̻̗̰̣͔͇̫͓̃̓̂̋̆͋̂̉͋̓̑̓͊o̴̡͔̠̹̩̻̰̻͌͐͂̽̂̾̌́́̓̍͌̚͝r̴̗͚̹̓͛̊̿͆̆͘̕̕r̴̨̦͍̜̯͊̍̀̒͂̔͠y̷̢̛̺̩̰͎̬̮͙͍̼̱̫̞͖̟̽̓̂̚͘͝ ̷̨͓̟̫̫̩̱̺͖͕̩̹͔̋̅͑̏͊̽͆̚S̸̙̘̮̯̗̦̲̽̇̉͑͋͋̍͋̕͘͘̕͠͠ô̸̪̩̗͈̜̣̟̜͖̟̌͑̔̀̇͘͜ŕ̸͓̳͖̟̫͑̾̓̀̂̿̋́̃͌̄͠r̴̛̳͓̟͍͔̝͇͖̮̜̞͈̬̮̈́̅͂͒́͋̽̒̊̈́̃̿̕͝y̴͚̝̫̺̝͎͋̏͂͐̐̾ ̷̢̧̨̺̙̖̃̽̚͝ͅD̵̘̘͆͊̃į̸̧̠͓̗̤̬̺̻͔̱̻͊̈́̈͊̚̚ͅď̵̡̡̛͖̺͙̜̤̦̦̮͌̉̑̂̅͐̄̈́ń̷̨̢̡̺̠͉̩̾’̷̨̛̛̠̭͎̝͓̼̮̪͐̌̿͘ţ̵̬̤̹̯̯̘͓͓̹̜̭͎̼͐̊̌̃̑̈́͠͠ ̷̨̧̢̞̼̱̙̯̪̾͗̽̆͆̒̅̓̋̎̔̉̕͝m̵̡̯̻̝͇̳͎͉͎̬͔̦̊͛̎̐̏͆̊̇́̄͜͜͝͠ͅè̴̛͚̘̠͎̪̻̀͐̌͆͐̀͝a̴̧̡̯̹͓̤̹͚̺̠͑̏̆̀̑͆͗̽͜n̶̳̣̤̪͈̲̥̣̕ ̶̛̍͒̏̚͝͝ͅį̴̘̝̻͕͇͙̬̅̉t̷̖͆́͊̏͐͝ ̶̬͈̟̝̗͈̱̺̄́̾̌̏̕̚͝͝S̵̛̘͚͓͚̺̱̺͔̲̮͚̺̱̘͂̄̓̆̏̇̈͗͛̐͝o̴̜͕ṙ̶̙̥̩̘̣̯͈̼̂̀̓̌͑̔͘̕͘͘r̴̨̬̲̤̽͌̈́̀́͋͂̇̕y̸̧̢̮͖̦̯̝̭̞͙͒̈͐͝.̴̛̪̳̜͙̦͔̈̈́̎͊̂̑̄̐̆͌͝ _

  
  


Fuck.

“I know,” he told Them. “I get it now. I’m sorry, too.”

  
  


_ L̷̨̗͓̦͍̟͍̳̻̝̻̊̄̈́̒͆̕ô̸̧̞̯̩̗̹̳͙͍͇̇̽̀͛͂͒͂̄͗͠ͅv̷͇͎̣̥̜̗̘̟̅̅͛̓͒̇̈̕e̵͇̱̼͒̏̍͒̀͌̀̄̍͝ ̶̻̣̺̖̀͗̋͐̇̚͜͝ỹ̷̪̼̬̜̘̈́̒̃̍̓̍͐̅̈̅͆͜ö̷̝͎̳̲́̅̂͆̂̆͘ͅǘ̵̝͂̾̅̈͑̌̈́͒̔͊̕ _

  
  


“Yeah.” He didn’t know how to explain that he couldn’t bring himself to love Them yet.

  
  


_ Ţ̷̙̖̗̥͍̣̤̉̔̈́͆͊͑̆ḭ̶̛̣̘̑͂̈́̕m̶̨̩̲̭̼͖͖̖̣̙̘̾̔̌͑͐̈́̽̔͂͗͊͠ͅȩ̸̭̲̝̹̜͕̠̞̏̒͂̕͠͝.̷̡̡̧̛͍̋͗̑͑̕͝ _

  
  


“Yeah. Yeah, we’ve got a lot of that.”

\---

“Is this it?”

“Were you expecting something else?”

Ben shrugged, laying on the moss without really feeling it. The Sunhat Girl Who Was Probably God But Ben Wasn’t Religious ticked another box on her paperwork.

“I thought there’d be more people,” he settled on, eventually. “Y’know. Lots of people die.”

“This isn’t the end, it’s just an inbetween.”

“Oh.”

“It’s where people wait.”

“Are you waiting?”

The girl tilted her head. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”

“Well, are you?”

“I suppose.”

“Who are you waiting for?”

The girl got back on her bike and rode away.

\---

_ B̶͍̥̑̓̇̾͘ͅè̷̟̻͆͗̀̿ǹ̵̛̥̙̭̥̭̑̍B̸̰̪̝̦͂̅̃e̷̞͔̞͋͋̎͝n̴̥̮̗̮̾̉̋B̷̳̳̃̐͗̉ȩ̴͈̦̪̀̽̐͌͝n̴̡̞͑̌̆B̶͉̈̇̏͛̈́e̸̡̺͙͔͂n̵̢̄̕B̶̢̨̙̺̋e̷̟͚̯͉̓͒ͅn̸̫̟͚̠̅̄͑.̸̜̣͂͜ _

Pointed legs brushed across his forehead. Another apology.

“I’m--” he cut himself off. He couldn’t say it.

\---

“Sorry about earlier,” he told the sunhat girl. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t,” she replied, “but some questions shouldn’t be answered.”

Ben didn’t know how to feel about that. “Five’d be so mad if you said that to him.”

“Five… ugh, I can’t stand him. Although, at least he tends not to die. That makes him an awful lot better than the one you got stuck with.”

Ben felt a muted nausea at the mention of Klaus. He refused to dwell on it. “Do you have us all ranked?”

The sunhat girl smiled without smiling. “Of course.” She spotted Ben’s horrified expression and rolled her shoulders. “Don’t worry, you’re my favourite.”

\---

The Horrors hummed happily as Ben swung his legs over the tree branch.

“I wish Dad hadn’t called you ‘the Horrors’,” he told a collection of fingers that didn’t quite fit together in a way that he could make sense of. “You’re not so bad, are you?”

The humming pitched up slightly and the Face rose up out of the trees. Ben watched it.

He didn’t realise it didn’t scare him anymore until he’d returned to the meadow.

\---

“You do need to leave eventually, you know.”

Ben frowned. “It’s up to me when I leave?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

\---

Ben pressed his cheek up against a solid wall of skin that had no discernible texture.

They pressed confusion back at him.

“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” he said, voice thick. “I’m sorry that I ever was.” 

The skin-that-wasn’t-skin warmed slightly. Ben wiped at his eyes preemptively.

“Dad hurt both of us with the experiments, though.”

The Horrors produced a burbling screech that felt like a thousand curses in one.

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “Maybe we should just blame him and be done with it.”

An arm with far too many elbows wrapped around his waist.

“Love you too,” Ben murmured into an endless void.

\---

Ben found the sunhat girl sitting on a rock.

“You’re ready.” Not a question.

Ben nodded anyway.

“Any last questions?”

“Would you answer them?”

“...Probably not.”

“Just one, then.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the first.”

“The first to die?”

“The first to wait.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Goodbye, Ben. Enjoy your second chance.”

\---

Ben woke up in a buried coffin and groaned.

“What the fuck happened to being her favourite?”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [neuronary](https://neuronary.tumblr.com/)
> 
> beta'd by [my good friend muna](https://davinkyy.tumblr.com/)


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